


All The Little Things

by Badger_Snuffling_Around_Your_Bins



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Smut, Freeform, Gen, Happy-Snape-Week, M/M, Please bare with me, Slow Build, Such A Contrived Beginning, Time Travel, Timey-Wimey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-07
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2018-09-15 09:37:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9229007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Badger_Snuffling_Around_Your_Bins/pseuds/Badger_Snuffling_Around_Your_Bins





	1. Chapter 1

"Please, Phobos, please reconsider?" came a desperate voice from the headmaster's office, causing Severus to peer over the top of his "borrowed" copy of The Daily Prophet, just as the door was flung open and a neon purple haired man stormed out; sporting a bristled mustache, a shiny black eye and what looked like burned skin along his scalp line.

The man was quickly followed out by someone whom Severus assumed was the headmaster, who was clutching what seemed to be a letter of resignation in his left hand as he reached out to the other man with his right, a pleading and desperate look in his eyes. "I'll double your wage, just please stay, you were doing so well."

"I'm sorry, Vincent." began Phobos, taking in a shaky breath as he came to face the headmaster . "But I did not become a teacher to be the center of mockery for those disobedient, little .... COCKROACHES!" Then reaching inside his robes he removed a walker hat which he promptly affixed to his head; covering most of his obnoxiously, bright hair. "Good day, sir!" And with that, the man turned on his heal and walked briskly away.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, the man named Vincent gave a heavy sounding sigh before turning and heading back towards the headmaster's office, only to halt when he spotted Severus; stood nearby and, approached him. "I'm sorry about that little display, just then." the man apologized, giving Severus a polite bow before indicating towards the now empty hallway which the other wizard had left by just moments before. "He really was a fine teacher but it seems he had some... "personal" issues he needed to resolve." Then noticing Severus' copy of the Prophet, he asked, "May I help you, in some way?"

"Yes, I believe so." Severus replied, folding the paper to show only the recruitment section before turning it towards the headmaster and tapping at the advertisement asking for someone to fill the position of the school's new potions master.

"Oh, you're here about the job?" the other wizard infused, his grey eyes becoming brighter as he clapped his hands together with a broad smile. "You couldn't have come at a better time, truly. Come, come, this way, please." Then turning away from Severus, he lead him into the circular office. "Sit. Sit." the man infused further as he took his own chair behind the desk, threading his fingers together and laying them on the table top in front of himself.

Gripping hold of the back of the chair offered to him, Severus hesitated for a moment before deciding that after everything that had happened to him that day, he needed to sit for just a moment. Taking his seat, he unfolded the newspaper then turning it back to the front page, he flattened it out. He took in the photo of himself, laying on a stretcher, covered with a white sheet and being carried out of a hallway in the Ministry Of Magic. "MAN FOUND UNCONSCIOUS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF MYSTERIES: Man Believed From The Future Appears In The Ministry Of Magic" read the headline as Severus' eyes drifted up to the date: march twenty-third, nineteen twenty eight. Even though it was still only early in the day, he was mentally and emotionally exhausted.

All he could remember was pacing about in his chambers in the dungeons, having only moments prier learned that Potter along with several other students had gone to the Ministry Of Magic, where the Dark Lord's men were lying in ambush. He had of course informed the Order as soon as he could, letting them know that the idiot boy had just played right into the Dark Lord's hands.

Black had been irritable to deal with as peer usual, making scathing comments about Severus before realizing that his dunderheaded godson was in mortal danger and had gone to mobilize the others. Once he had informed as many of the Order as possible, Severus had taken to pacing up and down the small stretch of his bed chamber. Unable to become involved due to being a double agent. He could not arrive on the scene and not be expected to take a side and jeopardize his connection to one of the sides and throwing his role as spy out the window.

But the more he had paced and the longer it had been without hearing a word from anyone, the more he felt he needed to know what was going on. He needed to have an understanding of the circumstances that was playing out and what it was leading to. But between the pacing back and forth and waking up in St Mungo's hospital, he drew a blank; unable to piece together the picture that had somehow landed him almost seventy years in the past.

"So then, my name is Professor Vincent Sparrowhope and, I am the headmaster, here, at Hogwarts." the older wizard began. "And, you are?"

"My name is Severus Snape." Severus answered dutifully, he was far too tired to think of witticisms and he didn't think it would help his situation, anyway. "Though, I doubt that my name would mean anything to you."

"Now, now, don't sell yourself short." Sparrowhope dismissed with another flash of his toothy grin. "Well, Severus; shall we go through your qualifications?"

"I don't have any." Severus answered, bluntly.

"You ... don't have any?" Sparrowhope fumbled, losing his composure slightly before seeming to comfort himself by stroking his greying goatee. "You want to apply for a job but you don't have the required qualifications. Not one?"

"Well, I'm not exactly from around here." Severus admitted, laying the Prophet down onto the desk and pushing it towards the older wizard with his index finger. "As you can probably deduce, I don't exactly have the necessary assets, such as a place to stay, money, ... food. But then I saw your advert in the newspaper and thought that I may as well do something I know well. I may lack the qualifications but I have almost fifteen years experience of teaching potions."

"This isn't a situation I deal with on a daily basis, you understand." Sparrowhope stressed, looking rather flummoxed as to what to do. "It's not everyday I have people come into my office, claiming to be from the future and asking for a job but without having any qualification." He then pinch his own bottom lip between his middle and index finger as he sat silently for a moment. "You say, you were a potions teacher back in your time? Yes?"

"Yes." Severus nodded.

"Then that means you must have been qualified for the job?" Sparrowhope deduced, tapping the desk with his fingers. "O.W.Ls, N.E.W.Ts?"

"I passed most of my O.W.Ls and N.E.W.Ts and I did my masters in potions." Severus supplied.

"But, you didn't bring them with you?" the other wizard questioned.

"I didn't expect to be transported back in time." Severus pointed out. "And, even if I had; I doubt they would have meant anything here, anyway."

Sparrowhope made a noise not too dissimilar to a horse nickering before placing his hands flat onto the table and pushing against the desk he stood and walked over to the nearby glass cabinet. Running a hand down his face and cup his chin as he stood silently, thinking to himself. "In any other circumstance, I would have sent you packing... but I am a desperate man." He then turned back to Severus, all the earlier enthusiasm had drained from his face and instead was replaced by a tired look. "The grades of the students in potions have been dropping for the past two years, so much so that only seventeen student out of one hundred and twenty-five received an Exceeds Expectations. Not one student received an Outstanding. Not one. And, as a result, I've received a letter of warning from the Ministry Of Magic, saying that unless I can bring up my students scores in potions class, they're going to override me and put someone in my place." He then walked back over to his desk and sat himself back down before once again, threading his fingers together. "So, I'll tell you what I'm going to do." Leaning forwards, he continued, "Later today, when all the students are in their common rooms, myself and another teacher; who is a highly qualified potioneer himself, will test your knowledge and see if you match our criteria. And, if you can prove yourself capable then, I'll give you a months trial as the schools potions master." Severus nodded and went to leave when Sparrowhope raised his hand in the air, "However, I will require that you work on your own studies, in private. As I cannot have anyone finding out that I hired someone without the proper qualifications."

Severus thought about this for a moment as it was a lot on top of everything else that already happened. Not only would he be tested and if he passed, he was on a months trial but that he would have to retake his qualifications, at the same time. Then reaching over to the desk, Severus picked up his newspaper and flipped through to the recruitment page, scanning over the other jobs on offer, only to give an annoyed grunt as he realized even the most basic job listed required qualifications he did not possess. Closing the paper, he folded it and went to leave the office. "What time should I arrive at?"


	2. Chapter 2

Severus made his way down the stairs leading into the castle dungeons'. He moved quickly, checking around every corner to make sure no students were out in the corridors after curfew, his step silent as he moved towards laboratory three where he had been instructed to meet the headmaster and the other teacher, to whom Severus had to prove himself. Whomever this other professor was, Severus only hoped they weren't like the grotesque, gargoyle that the Umbridge women had turned out to be. He gave a disgruntled snort at the memory of mewling cats decorating the DADA office. Then going to open the door, Severus stopped as he heard two people conversing on the other side. Peering round himself and noting that baring himself, the corridor was empty; he pressed his ear to the door. A habit he had developed over the years which he hoped wasn't developing into a vice.

"Do you think he will turn up?" came Sparrowhope's voice from behind the door.

"I'm afraid I don't have the gift of foresight, in order to tell you, Vincent." replied another voice that Severus seemed to recognize but couldn't for the life of him remember who it belonged to; putting it up to how exhausted he was feeling. "If he seems as desperate for the job as you said he was, he'll come." There was a pause for a moment before the other man continued. "Did he really come to you with no qualifications?"

"Yes." Sparrowhope answered, sounding deflated in his tone.

"Well, you have to give it to him, he's got guts to try something like that." the other laughed, jovially.

"My only hope is that he's the right choice because we are quickly running out of options." said Vincent. "You know that Phobos handed in his resignation this morning?"

"Phobos did?" the other gasped.

"So, that's another substitute teacher crossed off the list." Sparrowhope sighed. Severus could hear the sound of shoes against the dungeons stone flooring, moving towards the door; causing Severus to shift his position, ready to pull away if needed; only to hear the footsteps moving away again.

"Would you like me to go and check, to make sure he hasn't gotten lost?" the other man asked.

"If you please?" Sparrowhope agreed with yet another heavy sounding sigh.

Silently springing away from the door, Severus took a few steps backwards before making a motion as to reach out for the door handle, just as the door was opened from the other side.

Light blue eyes sparkled brightly in the dim candle light, catching Severus momentarily off his guard as the loose ends came together in his tired brain. Though, still tall and thin, his shoulders seemed slightly broader as he stood before him. His beard just beginning to grow and his hair had not yet succumb to the greying that lay in it's future; retaining it's youthful auburn. "Ah, you must be the man Vincent told me about," Albus Dumbledore beamed at him. "I was just about to come looking for you." Then looking back over his shoulder, the future headmaster called inside the room, "He's just arrived, do you want me to send him in?"

"Yes, thank you Albus." Sparrowhope's voice called back.

Pushing the door open further, Dumbledore stepped to the side and with an open palm, gestured for him to set foot inside.

Inside the laboratory a lone cauldron sat on the desk nearest the front of the classroom. Next to it was an array of different ingredients, scales, mortar and pestle, a plain white apron, a small handful of knives of varying sizes and what looked to be two books.

Coming closer, Severus found the books to be: Magical Drafts And Potions by Arsenius Jigger and Advanced Potion-Making by Libatius Borage, two textbooks that Severus had become very familiar with over the years.

It was then as he got closer that Severus noticed Sparrowhope had stopped his pacing and had taken up residence in the chair behind the desk. Along the table top sat eight potion vials, four containing various different coloured liquids while the other four sat empty, waiting to be filled. And, already Severus could hazard a guess as to what the test would be. The only question was which potions would they ask of him?

"Severus, this is Professor Albus Dumbledore, Hogwart's transfiguration teacher, head of Gryffindor house and, deputy headmaster. He'll be helping me evaluate your workings." Sparrowhope introduced them. "Albus, this is Severus Snape, the young man wanting to apply for the position of potions master."

"It's very nice to meet you." nodded Albus, reaching out a hand toward Severus.

"Charmed." he replied dryly, eyeing Dumbledore's hand before turning back to Sparrowhope. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that his future employer didn't seem hurt at all by Severus' refusal, rather he seemed almost amused. If his expression was anything to go by.

"Now then," Sparrowhope started with a clearing of his throat as he addressed him. "we have decided, among ourselves, as to the best way of testing you. Albus and myself have decided upon an old fashioned method of assigning you four different potions that we would like you to brew, to the best of your ability. The potions are of differing difficulties as to give us a broader look at your particular skill set. Blood-Replenishing Potion, Antidote To Uncommon Poisons, Shrinking Solution and, Draught of living Death." Then gesturing with his hands at the vials in front of him, he maintained "As you can see before you, Albus has already made samples of the potions you will be making for us this evening."

"Are there any limitations?" Severus prompted, wanting very much to hurry up and get it over with.

"No limitations. No time limits." Dumbledore answered. "But of course, try not to take all day about it as we all have things we need to be doing tonight."

"You may start whenever you're ready." Sparrowhope declared.

Nodding his understanding, Severus pulled on the apron and, cracking open the copy of Magical Drafts And Potions, he began selecting the ingredients needed for the Antidote to Uncommon Poisons.

***

Severus, though calm and collected as he was used to preforming both within a tight schedule but also under pressure, very much detested be monitored as he made each incision or measured out the ingredients before adding them to the bubbling cauldron. Sparrowhope, who watched him from behind the desk with an increasingly worried look on his face as the former head of Slytherin frequented the nearby shelves; acquiring ingredient that were missing from the list in Severus' memory. Such as the extra caterpillar in the Shrinking Solution, the thirteenth sopophorous bean and the silver dagger needed to crush them for the Draught of Living Death which had raised a few eyebrows when he had asked for it's whereabouts.

And then there was Albus, who stood only three steps away from him, watching his work, intently. And, what was worse was when Severus would turn to look in the twit's general area, he would smile at him in such a way that it made him feel paranoid that he somehow knew something Severus didn't. Certainly not the first time the old goat had made him feel that way but it didn't help ease him, in the least.

He was just about finished with his final potion, the Blood-Replenishing Potion; when Albus leaned in close. "May I say something?"

"I suppose." Severus said as he stirred the concoction thrice anticlockwise.

"I like how respectful you are of your ingredients and your equipment." Dumbledore admitted, his eyes twinkling in the light of the cauldron's flame which lite up and warmed their faces'. "It's nice to see that kind of dedication to your craft. It's a shame more people don't value such things as much, anymore."

"Thanks?" Severus managed unsure of how to address the other man's commentary on his workings. Then noticing the potion turning from orange to blood red, he quickly removed it from the heat.

When his potion was finally cool enough, he carefully ladled out a sample of the mixture and poured it into the remaining vial before corking it and, placing it with his other three potions. "I believe, I've finished." Severus announced, removing the apron and, folding it neatly; he placed it back down on the table.

"It appears you have, yes." Sparrowhope breathed then turning to Dumbledore he added, "What do think, Albus?"

"I think you preformed rather splendidly." Albus stated. "But, I must ask ... why did you add the flobberworm mucus into the Blood-Replenishing Potion?"

"Flobberworm mucus is a thickening agent and when a patient has lost a lot of blood, you want the blood to thicken as it causes more red blood cells to be produced and slows down the flow of blood through the body. Helping the patient to recover faster." Severus explained, simply.

"And, why did you crush the sopophorous beans instead of cutting them?" Dumbledore probed further.

"They release far more of their juice that way." He said with a shrug.

"What do you think, Vincent?" Albus questioned, turning back to the headmaster, who had been sat patiently.

"I am a little concerned that you moved away from the written instructions and went by your own." Sparrowhope put forth.

"I can assure you both that my methods are thoroughly tested beforehand." Severus informed them. "Certainly, I would not subject students to a method I had not tried and tested myself."

Despite Severus' assurance, Sparrowhope expressed, "I'm still not sure how I feel about this."

"Let us see if we can put your mind to rest Vincent and test the potions, already." Dumbledore interjected, taking up Severus green vial containing the Antidote To Uncommon Poisons, he pulled free the stopper with a resounding "pop" and brought it to his nose, taking a few sniffs. "Looks and smells right." he announced then, dipping his little finger into the acid green mixture and whipping it on the tip of his tongue, he gave thoughtful sounding hum. Re-corking the vial, Albus placed it back down on the desk with a knowing smile as he moved on to the next potion.

***

Severus' backside was perched on the edge of the desk, his fingers gripping the underside tightly to prevent himself from drumming them impatiently against the wooden surface while Dumbledore and Sparrowhope deliberated his fate in the far corner of the room. He had already caught himself leaning closer trying to hear what they had to say and had managed to pull himself back; praying that neither of them had noticed. Despite everything he'd been through, he was at his core a very prideful man. So the last thing he needed was for them to think of him as being even more desperate and possibly deranged than he must have already appeared.

Diverting his eyes, he looked to the shelves of ingredients and frowned at how foreign it looked in comparison to what he was used to. The first thing on his list if he got the job, besides purchasing himself a least one other set of robes, was to organize and re-shelve all the ingredients. He was then brought out of his thoughts by the sound of tapping, only to quickly recognize it was the heal of his shoe tapping against the stone flooring to his own flustered embarrassment which he attempted to hide by pretending to examine his fingernails.

"Severus?"

Pushing away from the desk, Severus stood at his full height as he turned back towards the pair as they approached. "After much deliberating we have managed to come to a joint conclusion." Sparrowhope delivered.

"Congratulations." Albus adulated with a wide smirk.

"Thank you." Severus said, lightly dipping his head in a polite inclination.

"But remember our arrangement." Vincent warned. "If in a month's time I don't feel you're upholding your end of our deal, your job placement will be terminated, understood?"

"Understood." Severus confirmed with another nod.

"The password to your chambers is "Anguis", if you wish to change the password at anytime, I would ask that you clear it with myself or Albus first, beforehand." explained Sparrowhope then moving away towards the door; he went on, "Now, if you'll excuse me, gentlemen, I have some paperwork waiting for me in my office. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Vincent. Sweet dreams." Dumbledore replied, waving the headmaster off as he left the classroom. Then turning back to Severus, he added, "I suppose, I should leave, too."

"Yes, you suppose correctly." Severus said, icily, folding his arms and impatiently drumming the fingers of his right hand against his upper arm.

Yet again, Severus' cold jab didn't seem to affect him in the slightest as he made a gesture towards Severus similar to brushing off a piece of lint before presenting him with another curl of his lips. "I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast then." Heading over to the laboratory door, he opened it ready to leave but paused and, looked over his shoulder towards him. "Goodnight, Severus." And, with that Albus disappeared around the door, closing it with a soft "click" behind him.

***

Later that night, he found himself laid awake in bed. His robes neatly folded on top of a nearby dining room chair, a note safety pinned to his outer robe; warning any house elf who popped in during the night of their painful and imminent death if they so much as touched his robes. Since they were his only item of clothing, he had taken to wrapping himself in a tight, many layered cocoon as he lay beneath in just his underwear. Feeling very much insecure without his nightshirt covering him. Silently worried that at any moment someone would walk through his chamber door and somehow manage to see through the many layers of duvets, comforters and blankets. 

Sniffing in a deep breath, he exhaled; readying himself for sleep. "Well, let's see what horrors await us tomorrow." he whispered to himself and, reaching around the velvet, emerald green curtains, he snuffed out the candle sat nearby. Pulling the heavy covers over his bared shoulders, he laid his head back down onto the pillow and drifted off into an uneasy sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Severus woke early, having slept rather well as apposed to his usual insomnia ridden slumber and had dressed quickly before heading to his "new" office. Entering the room, he locked the door swiftly and made his way over to the desk, where he was somewhat surprised to find a letter waiting for him. It was a plain beige envelop, no address or stamp, only his name in emerald green, cursive writing he did not recognize. Flipping it over in his hands, he quickly noted the Hogwarts official seal and, from the looks of it it was pretty fresh as the wax was still soft in places. He deduced that it had only just been placed there, maybe only minutes before his arrival. Looking towards the fireplace, he found his theory confirmed by the remnants of floo powder on the hearth as if the person had been in a rush when they had left the office. He gave an indignant snort, "I'm surprised the letter even made it into the room, let alone, somehow managed to make it onto my desk."

Breaking the seal, Severus removed it's content which turned out to be nothing more than his time table for the rest of the school term. Allowing his eyes to lazily drift over the chart, he stopped then he reread the table only to confirm that he was hosting double the usual amount of student revision sessions and, his usual Friday afternoon of double Potions with the forth years was instead only one lesson, closely followed by an additional lesson with the fifth years. Either that was just how things had been at Hogwarts in the nineteen-twenties or things were, really just as bleak as Sparrowhope had insinuated.

Placing the time table back inside the envelop, he pocketed it and looking to the large clock on the wall, he read the time as being fourteen minutes past six. With just less than fifty minutes before breakfast, forty if he desired to be their before the students began flooding in and gave himself time to scope out the others on the school's staff, get a feel for what kind of specimens they were. So, with time to spare, he decided to investigate the room further.

The first thing he noticed was the sparsity of ingredients on the shelves. Back in Severus' time, he remembered accruing a vast quantity of jarred potion ingredients and had had quite the collection going. Rounding the desk, he went to step into his storeroom, pulling back just before he hit his forehead against one of the shelves. No longer the decent sized cupboard, it was just a foot deep and could only fit one column of shelves. "What is the point, really?" he asked annoyed, gesturing to the "storeroom" with his left hand before closing the door. "May as well remove the door and be done with it." Then brushing down his office chair's seat, he sat down and gave a long overdue, bone-clicking, stretch.

Peering over at the door and making sure no one was there, he pulled out the desk draw and had a rummage around but gave a disappointed snarl when he didn't find anything of interest. But he quickly took his mind off of it by remembering something else he needed to do. Removing a roll of parchment and an ink pot and, quill from the draw, he set them out on his desk. And, taking his wand from his trouser pocket, he made a w motion before spiraling the tip of his wand downwards and flicked it towards the quill.

Without a moments hesitation the quill sprung to life. "Take a dictation." he ordered, causing the quill to dip itself in the ink pot, wiping it's nib of the excess liquid and waiting for Severus' word. "Things to be accomplished by the end of this week." the quill jolted to work, jotting down the words he had just spoken. "Number One: Write to the Department Of Mysteries, inquiring as to how long they believe it will be until I am able to return to my own time period. Failing that attend in person." Standing up he began to gently pace down the stretch of floor between the desk and the door. 

"Number Two: Assess the potions' market for any potential openings. But if the listings are as rigorous as they were in nineteen-ninety-six they may not take potions without certification or evidence of qualifications. If so I'll have to inquire into the sieving underbelly that is the black markets of Knockturn Alley. By no means my first time but I doubt it'll be my last." pause for a moment, he addressed the quill again. "Scratch those last few sentences." Looking over his shoulder, he was just in time to see the quill scribble furiously over the small paragraph, leaving his original two items intact. Managing a half smile at this, he continued in his dictation, "Number Three: Make arrangements with Gringotts. If it seems that I am to be staying here indefinitely then I'll be needing to make arrangements with the goblins at Gringotts and have a key cut." After all he couldn't very well have loose change rattling around his pockets. It would be very ill advised, indeed. 

"Number four: Rearrange the ingredients in the various potion labs and my office." Then raising his wand once more, he announced "That will be all, for now." And with that said, the quill dropped onto the page, nib first before overbalancing and falling onto the parchment with a soft "thud". Moving the quill off the page, he inspected it's writing and satisfied with what he saw, he rolled it up and tucked it away, safely with the envelop from earlier. "After all, there is no sense in being frantic about things we can't control." Catching himself in the reflection of a jar of preserved rat spleens, he cringed before wrinkling his brow at the pale man that looked back at him. "Don't you look at me like that." he lectured himself. "For now, self preservation is key until this can be rectified."

Later when the clock read: forty-five minutes past six, he left his office, locking it, securely and headed up the stairs, to the Great Hall for breakfast.


	4. Chapter 4

Making his way upstairs to the ground floor, Severus walked through the back passageway towards the Great Hall but when he went to open the door, his hand reflexively went for his wand as he heard gentle footsteps moving closer. He kept his wand out of sight as he went to face the person behind him. "Is it your usual custom to pull out your wand when you first meet a lady?" the witch asked with an amused smirk as she stepped closer, pulling her robe front closed over her floral pint, flapper dress. "Or is today a special occasion?"

"How did you know I had retrieved my wand?" Severus queried, frowning in suspicion.

"Slight tension just above the left eyebrow and the fact that you are standing with your left side facing me which in a right handed person is a sign of defensiveness. And I know your right handed because that's the hand you went to open the door with." The brunette smiled, triumphantly. "Dianna Bindwood, Defence Against The Dark Arts."

"Severus Snape." Severus nodded, hiding his intrigue as he slipped his wand back into his trouser pocket.

"Oh, I know who you are. I saw your picture in The Daily Prophet." Bindwood smirked as she moved past him towards the door, pausing briefly, she added, "A word of warning: Professor Southwark from Care Of Magical Creatures or the "Colonel" as we call him-Well, he's been waiting for a new set of ears to listen to his stories for years. So, good luck." And, with that she left through the door into the adjoining room.

With a dismissive snort, Severus cleared his thoughts and entered the Great Hall and was immediately greeted by several pairs of probing eyes. "Ah, Severus, there you are." Sparrowhope announced walking to the Potion master's side, going to place his hand on Severus' shoulder only to stop and lowering his hand. Turning back to the other members of staff, he addressed them, "Everyone, this is Professor Severus Snape, our new Potions teacher."

"Ah, a fresh face." said man with long graying blond sideburns as he stood up from the staff table. Then grabbing Severus by his right hand, he then proceeded to shake his hand with such vigor that Severus was worried his arm would dislocate from it's socket. "Charles Southwark, Care Of Magical Creatures, it's wonderful to meet you, young man."

"Pleasure." Severus managed once Southwark let go before being approached by a rather short women, who only came up to his elbow in height. Sat on the brim of her pointed hat was a crown of flowers made up of: daturas, crocuses and black-eyed susans.

"Hello." she began in an equally small, whisper of voice. She did not meet his eyes with her hazel ones and fidgeted where she stood as she continued, "I'm Gwendoline Marsh, my crystal ball told me I was going to meet a Capricorn traveler, although, I must admit I was expecting a women." she gave a small snort of laughter. "But you can't expect one hundred percent accuracy all the time, can you?"

"No, I suppose that would be asking too much." he answered in a similar manner he used with Sybill Trelawney which was to simply nod along and pretend that he had some clue as to what she was waffling about.

"Thank you, Gwen." interrupted Sparrowhope with a clearing of his throat, to which Marsh pranced back to her seat; reminding Severus of one of his air headed Ravenclaw students, thinking that it wouldn't have surprised him if they were somehow related. "Now, you're sat just over there," the Headmaster gestured vaguely down the table towards where the Bindwood women was sat. "You'll be sitting next to Professor Bindwood and, of course, Albus; who you've already met."

Severus simply nodded and went to take his seat. "Good morning, Severus." Albus greeted him, brightly.

"Good morning." Severus said as he slid into his seat besides the Transfiguration Professor and Bindwood.

"Excited about your first day of being a teacher?" Dumbledore asked as the Great Hall's doors opened and the first few students trickled in for breakfast.

"Excited isn't the word I would use to describe how I feel." Severus answered as he added a few peach slices to his porridge before cutting them into chunks and folding them into his breakfast.

"Anxious?" Albus put forth as he took a bite from his toast which was thickly coated in raspberry jam.

"Nor anxious." Severus shuck his head, humming around a mouthful of porridge. He truthfully didn't know how he felt as he looked out at the growing crowd of students. "I'll have to wait and see what happens and work from there."

Bindwood muffled a laugh next him as she drank her pumpkin juice.

"Something amusing about what I just said, Professor Bindwood?" Severus challenged, raising a brow.

"Oh nothing, Professor Snape." she smirked. "Just wondering how long you're wanting to last here?"

"Dianna, be nice." scolded Dumbledore. "We should be encouraging and welcoming to our newest member of staff."

"And I quiet agree." she nodded. "But only a fool would walk into a battlefield like that unprepared." She then addressed Severus. "Old Sparrows told me you were there when Phobos resigned. You must have seen how he looked, you don't think the man did that to himself, do you?" Severus shuck his head but said nothing, intrigued. "I'd be careful, if I was you. Maybe invest in a potions resistant helmet."

"Then clearly you underestimate me." Severus smiled, dabbing his mouth with a napkin. "I'll see you both at dinner."

"Surely, you're not leaving already?" Albus questioned. "You've barely eaten."

"I don't have time to waste lounging around." Severus dismissed as he stood from the table. "I have many different tasks I need to complete today and a finite amount of time in which to do it in. So, if you'll excuse me?" And with that Severus stood from the table and left.

"Awfully eager fellow, isn't he?" Professor Southwark commented as Severus passed him on his way out the door.

"Capricorns do tend to be more conscientious than others." said Professor Marsh as Severus shut the door behind him and headed off. He had a lot of things he needed to get done by the end of the week. And sitting about talking wasn't going to help him accomplish that.


	5. Chapter 5

"Let me get this straight." Severus began as he pinched the bridge of his nose while he stood in the Department Of Mysteries. "You're saying that I passed through a mirror and that the mirror is intact but you're refusing to let me pass back through?"

"I'm afraid so." said the Ministry worker is an apologetic tone. "You see, in order to establish a safe connection we need to run several tests and trials to make sure that it functions correctly."

"Surely, if I came through it, I should be able to go back the way I came?" Severus asked, trying his best not to become irritable.

"Unfortunately, it's not that simple." the women explained, seeming to sense Severus was becoming frustrated as she nervously ran a finger around the back of her collar; causing Severus to clear his mind and face of emotions. "People tend to think of portals as being like a door, you have a handle on both sides and can enter and exit through it. But sometimes you have portals that can only be accessed or activated from one side. We then need to assess whether the portal on the other side has at all been damaged or if living beings are able to successfully pass through unharmed as we don't have records in this time period to compare the mirror's condition. You being able to pass through into this timeline could have been a freak accident or it could be the norm. So, until we're one hundred percent certain that it is safe for you to return to your time period we can't allow you to attempt to pass through. But the Ministry is willing to foot the bill for any inconvenience caused. Or in the least find you some temporary accommodation?"

"I found my own accommodation but some monetary funds would go some ways to actually being helpful." Severus nodded. "Do you know how long it might be until the testing is over?"

"It could be a week or a month or even a year, I'm afraid." she explained but at Severus' heavy sigh, she added "But, if you want we can send you an owl to inform you of our progress?"

"I suppose that's best offer I'm going to get." Severus hummed. "Fine."

***

Severus felt exhausted as he made his way through Diagon Alley, he had left the Ministry just moments before and had apparated straight to the shopping district. While pondering to himself whether this was how jet lag felt, when in the reflection of the windows of the apothecary, he spotted a familiar head of red hair making his way down the opposite side of the street. "I wonder." he whispered to himself but then looking back at the apothecary, he paused in thought. He was curious as to know what Dumbledore was doing in Diagon Alley but at the same time it was none of his business. After all he wouldn't appreciate being followed about. But on the other hand, if he remember correctly, this was an Albus Dumbledore who had yet to have his famed battle with Grindelwald, before the first wizarding war had taken place. He was intrigued to know how much of changed man Dumbledore had become. Most wizards and witches viewed Albus Dumbledore as this grandfatherly figure, sweet and nurturing and, certainly to extent they were correct. But Severus had also the other side of the Headmaster. The stern and sometimes fierce man. The battle hardened wizard, who had led the charge in more than his fair share of conflicts. What Severus wanted to know was: how much of that was a result of years of experience and how much of that had always been there?

Taking one last look to the apothecary, Severus turned and followed after Dumbledore into Flourish And Blotts. Once he entered the establishment, he scanned the surrounding area and spotting the future Headmaster heading for the Transfiguration section. Moving quickly on the ball of his feet and weaving in and out of other customers, Severus headed for the History Of Magic section that was just a shelf behind Transfiguration. Finding Dumbledore with his back to him as his fellow Professor flipped through a book he had moments before plucked, seemingly at random, from the shelf in front of him.

To try and appear as a natural as possible in his surroundings, he took up a book about Herbert Varney and leaned against the shelf. Peering up occasionally from the written words of the book, he kept a close eye on Dumbledore; who thumbed through various titles. After moment longer, Severus had decided that surveillance of the nineteen twenty's Dumbledore could probably wait for another day or even a more engaging environment when he suddenly became aware of something or more likely someone trying to pry into his mind. With a slight effort, he pushed the intruder out.

Affronted, he looked about himself as to identify the perpetrator. Frowning at the empty section, Severus turned back towards the Transfiguration books when he was greeted by a pair of blue eyes. Slowly, he raised his book on Herbert Varney up and pushed it into place; blocking out the eyes. "Severus, we need to talk." Albus said in a sober tone from behind the books.

"Yes, I suppose you're right." Severus acknowledged, wishing very much he had instead gone to the apothecary.


End file.
